House Zeran
Introduction House Zeran is a very large and older nation at 41 days old with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity whose religion is Shinto. Its technology is first rate and its citizens marvel at the astonishing advancements within their nation. Its citizens pay extremely high taxes and many despise their government as a result. The citizens of House Zeran work diligently to produce Wheat and Spices as tradable resources for their nation. It is an aggressive country that some say has an itch for war. When it comes to nuclear weapons House Zeran will not research or develop nuclear weapons. The military of House Zeran has been positioned at all border crossings and is arresting all drug traffickers. House Zeran allows its citizens to protest their government but uses a strong police force to monitor things and arrest lawbreakers. It has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to become citizens first. House Zeran believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizens right to speak freely about their government. The government gives whatever is necessary to help others out in times of crisis, even it means hurting its own economy. House Zeran will not make deals with another country that has a poor history of inhuman treatment of its citizens. House Zeran Local Map House Zeran Global Map The History of House Zeran Origins The exact origins of the Auroran people remain shrouded in mystery, and due to extreme political tensions spanning all of Planet Bob, few Auroran historians have been willing to part with the information excepting a few priveleged allies. Little external history of the House's existence exists, as they seemed to appear in the region formerly known as Detroit practically overnight. It is widely accepted that the Aurorans are a collective of political dissidents who banded together out of necessity in order to form a better society for themselves. Dominance Coming Soon! The Enrico Fermi Disaster On 4 October 2007, Zerani Department of Energy (ZDoE) personnel issued a report to the Thurokiir which declared the Enrico Fermi nuclear power station's single boiling water reactor to be operating outside of safety tolerances. The report warned that unless the reactor was immediately deactivated and given extensive repairs, that there was an ever-growing possibility for nuclear meltdown of the Fermi-2 reactor. Dominance, the capital city of House Zeran, had become completely dependent upon the Enrico Fermi nuclear power station to feed its rapidly-growing demand for electrical power. Unless an alternative power source could be provided, the Zerani people faced weeks - perhaps even months - of blackout. Thurokiir Thunderforge called a conference with the ZDoE, and over the next several hours several alternatives were researched, including importing electricity from nearby hydroelectric plants to the north, and the coal plants found to the south. Given the intensive energy requirements of the city of Dominance and the Dominance Arcology, both proved to be too cost-intensive for the nation's struggling budget. With all other hope exhausted, the ZDoE manager of the Enrico Fermi nuclear power station proposes the reactivation of Fermi-1, a prototype fast-breeder reactor constructed along with the rest of the facility in 1963. Many concerns were raised over the reactivation of Fermi-1 reactor, not the least of which was its spotty track record. The reactor suffered a partial meltdown during 1966, requiring extensive repair before it could be safely brought online again. Though the plant management did repair the reactor at the time, it remained somewhat unstable and was finally decommissioned in 1972 with the completion of the more stable Fermi-2 reactor. There were also concerns about whether or not the prototype reactor would be able to handle the electrical load generated by Dominance, though in the end the ZDoE determined that Fermi-1 was more than capable of generating the necessary power. Though the reactor had been mothballed for 35 years, it was still well-maintained, and seeing no other viable alternative Thurokiir Thunderforge ordered the reactor back into service that evening. Over the course of the night ZDoE technicians would give Fermi-1 some last-minute maintenance and refuel the reactor. Once activated, the reactor's behavior was observed for several hours to ensure that it operated within tolerances. Satisfied that the reactor was indeed behaving itself, ZDoE personnel began the procedure to connect Fermi-1 to the Dominance power grid. At 0123 EST the morning after the report was filed, Fermi-1 was placed on the Dominance power grid. However, a critical error had been overlooked during the procedure and a reverse load situation was created - the two active reactors regarded each other as electrical loads and began attempting to pull each other, pushing them both to critical mass within seconds. The two reactors exploded violently before the plant's automated safety controls could bring the reactions under control, and the plant was reduced to a cloud of subatomic particles. The nearby city of Dominance was saturated with radioactive materials, and within a matter of hours over 1,900 Zerani citizens had died from super-lethal radiation doses. Endurance In the aftermath of the Enrico Fermi disaster, scarcely a hundred Zerani Aurorans were able to escape Dominance with their lives. Equipped with only what they could grab up on their way out, the Zerani survivors began a migration north into the Canadian wilderness where they would meet up with rescue teams from the National Alliance of Arctic Countries. Several hot meals and a massive decontamination effort later, deliberations began as to the fate of the wayward Zerani populace. Despite offers from several members of the NAAC - including other Auroran nations - to become full citizens of their nations, the Zerani Thurokiir and his people chose to rebuild their nation with financial and technological assistance from the NAAC. With a fresh stockpile of equipment and supplies, the Zerani Aurorans traveled to the far north to settle on a large island just north of Russia. On that frigid island, the Zerani Aurorans began construction of a society that would outshine even the prosperous life they had enjoyed in Dominance. They named their new homeland Endurance, which was more than appropriate given the trials that the Zerani Aurorans had faced as a nation. Thanks to the technological aid provided by the NAAC, the Zerani people were able to shake their dependence on nuclear power and instead construct several geothermal power facilities which would provide near-limitless energy to their society. With their enormous energy needs sated, the people turned their efforts to the construction of the Endurance Arcology. The Endurance Arcology represents the pinnacle of Auroran society, and the spire-like edifice stands at the center of Zerani society both literally and metaphorically. Yet even the spire that towers over Endurance City is nothing compared to the portions of the fortress-city carved into the frozen earth beneath the spire's base. Though the Endurance Arcology is fully capable of supporting the entire Auroran population in the event of a war, many of the citizens instead live in the lands surrounding the arcology. Forming a ring around the spire, Endurance City is growing with each passing day. The people of House Zeran - once known only as a savage warrior race - have found a new meaning to their existence by turning their attention towards the technological development of their society. The Auroran People Culture Auroran culture is often considered to be alien and disturbing to those who encounter it, which has historically lead to many diplomatic difficulties for the nation and its allies. Auroran society is permeated on all levels by a strong sense of duty to the House, as well as a strict code of warrior honor, in which all Aurorans seek to bring perfection to themselves through intense martial discipline and the trials that each new battle brings to them. This has left the world with the impression that the Zerani Aurorans are a warmongering people, despite each of the many wars plaguing House Zeran's early history being defensive in nature and waged in defense of its allies. When House Zeran left the war-plagued /b/ alliance for the National Alliance of Arctic Countries, some theorized that it would be the end of the culture's aggressive tendencies and mark the beginning of a more normalized society. While exposure to the membership and technology of the NAAC has indeed caused a cultural revolution throughout House Zeran, it only served to make the culture more alien and disturbing than it already was. With fewer wars to worry about, the Zerani people found themselves turning their attention towards the technological development of their society and their military. Unburdened by many of the moral imperatives that other societies possess, the Aurorans have even begun experimenting with various mechanical and genetic augmentations of the human body. Many Aurorans express that they see too much mindless consumerism in the cultures around them, as well as a disturbing lack of the altruism that defines Auroran society. They view pure capitalism and the class-driven society it creates as inherently selfish and dishonorable, and fail to understand how these societies manage to self-perpetuate. Government The government of House Zeran has been in a state of flux over the course of its existence, with the nation's original rise to power occuring under the guidance of a federal government established early in the nation's existence. As time passed, the supposedly democratic nature of the Zerani government became bogged down with the entrenchment of opposing political parties, and as a result the government's ability to serve its citizens effectualy saw considerable decline in the times leading up to the Enrico Fermi disaster. When the Enrico Fermi disaster struck, the majority of the Zerani government was killed along with the citizens they represented, threatening to create an immense power vacuum and reducing the Zerani people to anarchy. Somehow the Zerani Thurokiir, Thunderforge, had survived the meltdown, and only by invoking emergency executive power and assuming total control of House Zeran was the nation able to survive long enough to evacuate. As House Zeran struggled to recover in its newly-claimed homeland to the north of Russia, many Aurorans felt the need to establish a transitional government to facilitate a return to the pre-disaster federal government. Remembering all too well the failings of the previous government, Thunderforge denied the requests for the establishment of a transitional government and instead established a new system in which the office of Thurokiir resembled that of a monarch moreso than a presidency. Massive reforms were also conducted to the structure of the senate to prevent the entrenchment of political parties, while the judicial branch of House Zeran remained ultimately unchanged. Though this government was met with considerable criticism early on, the people of House Zeran have since accepted the new government as being vastly superior to its predecessor. Since then, stabilization within House Zeran has allowed the Thurokiir to resign much of his authority back into the hands of the people and their elected representatives, though Thunderforge keeps a close watch on the national Senate for signs of corruption and stagnation. In keeping with the Auroran lifestyle, the Thurokiir has established the new House Zeran as a libertarian-socialist nation in which the government and its people strive to better their society as a whole through their individual efforts. The economy of House Zeran is tightly-regulated, and while this leaves the economy's performance lagging behind pure capitalist economies, it has proven to be far more stable in difficult times. Socially speaking, the citizens of House Zeran enjoy an almost lavish amount of social liberty resulting from the Thurokiir's hands-off attitude concerning the private matters of his people. Languages House Zeran is a bilingual nation, and its citizenry speak both their native Auroran and international English fluently. Many Aurorans are also picking up Chinese, Russian and Japanese due to the geographic proximity of these nations, though these languages remain purely elective at this point. House Zeran and the World The /b/ Alliance Caught amidst a maddening web of nations and the vast alliances that controlled them, and surrounded on all sides by vicious raiders, the Zerani leadership quickly realized the need for allies to help in defending its citizens. Neither willing nor able to commit to one of the larger alliance blocs at the time, the Zerani government instead aligned itself with the fledgling /b/ alliance despite the many ideaological differences between Auroran lifestyle and the lifestyle of the average /b/tard. Indeed, the Zerani Thurokiir and the alliance leadership clashed frequently over matters of honor. Nonetheless, the /b/ alliance allowed House Zeran to make its place in the world and helped it establish relations with many other world leaders. Relations between House Zeran and the /b/ alliance continued to strain as time passed and the Zerani leadership became more confident in its ability to defend its borders without the assistance of the /b/ alliance. It was on the fateful evening of October 2 that the alliance's Minister of Foreign Affairs insulted the honor of House Zeran for the last time. Unable to tolerate any further slander against his nation, the Zerani Thurokiir immediately withdrew House Zeran from the /b/ alliance. The National Alliance of Arctic Countries It didn't take the Thurokiir long to determine which alliance would best serve the needs and interests of his people. Having been exposed to many of the other alliances of Planet Bob during his term as a representative for the /b/ alliance, Thunderforge had come to recognize the National Alliance of Arctic Countries as a just and honorable alliance with viewpoints similar to those of his own people. After overcoming the initial shock of seeing one of the /b/ alliance's more influential member nations applying for membership, the NAAC accepted House Zeran as a member. Initially, the relationship between House Zeran and the NAAC was rocky. The Zerani government had grown accustomed to dealing with the much more informal nature of the /b/ alliance, and the formalities present in the NAAC seemed to chaff the Zerani people at every opportunity. Yet over time the two entities have developed a strong working relationship and both sides obviously benefit from the arrangements made. These relations are firmly cemented by the generosity and altruism shown by allied nations during the Enrico Fermi disaster, which almost assuredly prevented the dissolution of the Zerani nation. Category:Nations